History
The tower in Dzietrzychowice was built on the land that in the first half of the fourteenth century was the property of the Kelbichen family. It is not certain when it was built, perhaps it happened only between 1467 and 1474, when Matthes von Promnitz wrote from Dzietrzychowice (Dittersbach). It was located on the route from the Żagań to Nowogród castellany, as one of the two manor centers in the village. Over the course of several centuries, it was rebuilt, but the source of these works has not survived. According to iconographic records, after World War II, the building was ruined and devoid of a roof. At that time, the eighteenth-century extensions adjacent to the tower were demolished.
Architecture
The tower was situated on the slope of a small hill, above the pond and stream in the western part of the village. It was built on a square plan with dimensions of 7.6 x 8.7 meters, of erratic stones, bricks and bog iron, bonded with lime mortar. Thick, about 1.5-meter walls gave it a defensive character, although the entrance was accessible directly from the courtyard (unless the ground level was lower in the Middle Ages, then the entrance would not be so easily accessible). Originally, the tower was surrounded by manor buildings, various outbuildings and a one-story building with a chimney, probably serving as a kitchen.
The four-storey tower house was covered with a steep hip roof, and its facades were irregularly arranged with window openings. Originally they were small Gothic windows, placed from the inside in deep, wide recesses. The ground floor and the first floor were illuminated only by small slit openings, therefore only above (first an second floor) there were living and representative rooms, while the basement and the ground floor served as storage and utility rooms. In the west, front elevation, there were entrance portals to the ground floor and cellar. Both had jambs closed with very slightly marked pointed arches. Additionally, on the west elevation there was originally a latrine.
Inside the tower, only the cellar was vaulted, and the three upper rooms were divided by wooden ceilings into floors of varying heights. Communication between them was via ladder stairs. A single-space basement, accessible directly from the courtyard, was covered with a barrel vault and equipped with a wall recess for a candle at the entrance. According to legend, this room was supposed to be a secret entrance, leading under the pond towards the monastery farm. The ground floor was lit only by two slit openings, while the first floor was illuminated by two windows: from the north and south. The second floor, which was best lit on three sides, and also equipped with a latrine, had the greatest comfort.
Current state
Currently, the tower is privately owned and renovated from the 1990s. It obtained a new roof truss and a roof covered with ceramic tiles. The original character of the tower was distorted by large early modern windows with traces of numerous brickwork. The northern entrance to the tower is also modern. From the original architectural details, the entrance portals and the candle recess in the basement have been preserved.
bibliography:
Chorowska M., Rezydencje średniowieczne na Śląsku, Wrocław 2003.
Leksykon zamków w Polsce, red. L.Kajzer, Warszawa 2003.
Nowakowski D., Siedziby książęce i rycerskie księstwa głogowskiego w średniowieczu, Wrocław 2008.